The Unmarried (Lauren Gauge)

‘The Unmarried’ is very clever. A pulsating verse monologue, accompanied by live singing and beatboxing to a series of 90s club anthems, the performance is so inventive that at times it risks drowning in its own artifice. There is a weakness at the heart of this otherwise strong piece: Luna, the protagonist. Her fear of commitment and domesticity are clichéd and predictable, making her come across as unsympathetic, even juvenile; it’s a shame, as this thin caricature is unworthy of the obvious skill on display elsewhere. Clearly Lauren Gauge is both a gifted performer and a highly skilled writer – I kept hoping for her character to reveal some depth to match the complexity of her lyricism, but it never happened.